Hazards and Handicaps
HAZARDS AND HANDICAPS Whenever or wherever one wanders, there are the inevitable unexpected encounter . Most monster on Marete are at least semi-intelligent. Do not underestimate their brains or their brawn. Proper precautions prevent premature burial. Know your enemy. Always have the best possible weapons and armor equipped and ready for use, or magical spells et for casting, or be ready to hide and sneak. When all else fails, retreat fleetly. Monstrous Menaces Identification Batties Beware the night, for that is when the batties come out to prey. Seemingly simple brown bats, these tiny winged warriors are really fearsome blood-craving killers with a bat attitude. Don't let their size fool you; once they drive you batty, you'll be driven to an early grave. Bearmen Bearmen are unusual ursine humanoids who principally prowl along the seashores. They have "bearly" any brain, but boast big, bulging biceps. When a Bearman invites you to join his club, he probably means to join it to your skull. Boarmen Boarmen are pig-headed, portly, pack-traveling beings with little brain, but beaucoup belligerence. There are a couple of varieties of the pugnacious porkers, but they are basically the same. They travel in small groups and are nuisances rather than truly tough. Cougarmen Crafty and catlike, the Cougarmen creep along stealthily until they are ready to pounce. Rumor had it that they make very good eating. Unfortunately, further research revealed that they are just very good at eating adventurers. Hazards and Handicaps Dragons Dragons are legendary creatures of incredible fury and power. Most are just oversized lizards who happen to have wings and flaming breath. Huge, yes. Magical, yes. However, they are just big monsters who are incredibly difficult to kill (but Heroes know how to handle that sort of thing). The Dragon of Doom A few dragons are manifestations of great magical energy that draws power from acts of evil. Blood sacrifice feeds them, and they increase in strength and fury as long as they remain in their lairs. When these fierce creatures achieve the fullness of their power, they break free of their bindings, and wreak devastation throughout the land. Ages ago, Marete was attacked by such a being, rumored to be the Dragon which destroyed Atlantis. The most powerful Wizards of the lands worked together to create the magical bindings known as the Dragon Pillars. The Dragon of Doom was driven beneath the Temple to the northeast of Mount Draconis. A Prophecy Stone was created to seal the Dragon within the Temple. As long as the Dragon Pillars stand and the Prophecy Stone remains intact, the Dragon of Doom will never again rise to destroy Silmaria. Dragonfish These fearsome scaly beasts desolate the depths of the Med Sea. While not true Dragons, Dragonfish are nearly as vicious. Besides having a powerful bite, Dragonfish can also breathe deadly vapors even under the sea. A whiff of this poisonous breath can ruin your whole day. If you meet a Dragonfish, it might be wisest to go elsewhere in a hurry. Dragonlings These creatures appear to be adorable miniature dragons until they decide to attack. Suddenly they become vicious, nasty creatures with flaming breath. They have a natural immunity to fire-based spells. Goons Goon are amazingly intelligent when compared to your average Ogre. They will generally follow orders, unless the orders interfere with following potential food. Humans fall into that category a Goon are tough enough to turn the slow adventurer into fast food. Granglers Granglers are big, ugly monsters with big, pointy horns and big, sharp teeth. Did we mention that they're BIG? They also smell bad and pack a particularly powerful punch. Lemures Lemures are physical manifestations of the spirits of the dead. Fortunately, they are bound to the Underworld, so you are unlikely to encounter them in your adventures. If you do, quickly chop them into bony bits to cure them of their voracious undead condition. Manes Manes are greater ghosts. They are the shades of Heroes and other powerful individuals who refused to let go of life. They now haunt the Underworld, draining the energy from any living being foolish enough to enter Hades in hopes of regaining his own life essence. That quest is hopeless, but many a worthy individual has gone down to his greed. Beware the spells of the Mane ; some are sorcerer of great potency. Razored Remora You probably think of Remora as creature that tag along on sharks and whales. Not so the deadly Med Sea variety. They will attack anything that moves, be it fish or adventurer. In fact, they'll attack pretty much anything that stops. They may not be the brightest of undersea creatures, but they are among the most dangerous. Hazards and Handicaps Shades Shades are the ghost of the restless dead. You might fir t think that what you can barely see will barely hurt you, but you should think twice about these deadly undead. Not only can Shades attack with a ghostly touch, merely coming close to one will drain your life energy. If you try to keep your distance, Shades will attack you with magical spells. Lay them to re t before your life is wrested away from you ... if you can. Walking Salamanders On a scale of 1 to l00, Walking Salamanders are simply covered with scales. They probably wouldn't be in this game except that they were willing to work for scale. If you cast a Frost Bite spell on one, you'd have a Lizard in a Blizzard. Watch out for the Salamander's tail ... it's a tale best left untold. Weirdings These bizarre beings are not native to mainland Marete, but have insidiously invaded the remoter regions of this island. They are intelligent, cunning, and cruel with an appalling anthropophagus appetite for adventurer . Winged Homunculi Flying high above the common crowd, Homunculi look like winged monkeys. They are hardly a chimp off the old block, but they'll go ape over you. Category:Manuals Category:Monsters